News

As GOP Proposes Real Patients' Bill of Rights, Democrats Demand 'Lawyers Right to Bill'

July 14, 1999

Bad Medicine: Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton and other liberals are jamming the airwaves with their so-called "Patients' Bill of Rights." But they don't talk about a study – by their own researchers at the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office – which says their plans would add regulations and frivolous lawsuits that would drive up insurance costs by $355 for every family each year. The CBO says higher prices would force over 1.8 million Americans to lose their insurance.

GOP Patients' Bill of Rights: Meanwhile, the GOP bill protects families from losing their health insurance, by keeping red tape and lawsuits away, while protecting the 48 million Americans whose health plans are not protected by state regulations. Republicans guarantee families immediate access to emergency rooms and the doctor of their choice. They also provide direct access to an OB-GYN, pediatrician and other specialists.

Trial Lawyer Payoff: There is one huge difference between the bills: Democrats want to pay off big-money trial lawyers – who flood their campaign coffers with campaign cash – by rewarding them with a lawsuit bonanza. Democrats don't want trial lawyers to just sue doctors for malpractice, they also want them to sue the insurance company who picked the doctor – and the employer who picked the insurance company!

Three Questions Democrats Can't Answer:

1. What family-owned small business is going to provide health insurance for their employees when it means they might lose their home in a frivolous lawsuit?
2. How will siphoning scarce dollars out of health care – and dumping it into the pockets of well-heeled ambulance chasers – improve a family's health?
3. Shouldn't health questions be answered immediately by doctors in hospital rooms – not by lawyers in court rooms?

House Call: It's imperative we make our voices heard – and stop the Democrat distortions. Call Kennedy, Clinton and your local Democrat lawmaker. We must demand they stop using health care as a political football, and support the GOP bill.

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Republican National Committee